Harmon v. Regions Bank

961 So. 2d 693, 2007 WL 1630971
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 2007
Docket2006-CA-00453-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 961 So. 2d 693 (Harmon v. Regions Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harmon v. Regions Bank, 961 So. 2d 693, 2007 WL 1630971 (Mich. 2007).

Opinion

961 So.2d 693 (2007)

Martha M. HARMON and James V. Harmon
v.
REGIONS BANK.

No. 2006-CA-00453-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 7, 2007.
Rehearing Denied August 16, 2007.

*695 Rex F. Sanderson, Houston, attorney for appellants.

L. Bradley Dillard, R. Brannon Kahlstorf, Tupelo, attorneys for appellee,

Before SMITH, C.J., CARLSON and DICKINSON, JJ.

DICKINSON, Justice, for the Court:.

¶ 1. This case is before the Court on appeal from the Circuit Court for the First Judicial District of Chickasaw County, *696 Mississippi, by the Plaintiffs, Martha M. Harmon and James V. Harmon ("the Harmons"). The Circuit Court entered summary judgment in favor of the Defendant, Regions Bank. The Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Reconsider the Entry of Summary Judgment and a Motion for Authority to File Amended Complaint, which were denied by the Circuit Court. Aggrieved by the Court's Order Denying the Motion to Reconsider Summary Judgment and Motion to Amend, the Harmons timely filed their Notice of Appeal.

¶ 2. The Harmons raise three issues on appeal. First, the Harmons allege that the Circuit Court erred in deciding that the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq., preempted their state law cause of action for harassment and defamation of their credit reputation. Second, the Harmons argue that the Circuit Court erred in failing to make findings of fact regarding the preemption issue. Third, the Harmons assert that the Circuit Court erred in denying their Motion to Amend their Complaint. While the first issue is dispositive here, each of these issues are addressed in the discussion below.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

¶ 3. James and Martha Harmon executed a loan secured by their home on February 14, 1992, with Sunburst Bank in the amount of $35,210.00. Thereafter, the Harmons applied for and received a mortgage loan with Union Planters Bank on February 2, 1998, for the sum of $66,551.50. On November 26, 2001, the Harmons paid in full the loans made by Sunburst and Union Planters Bank and properly executed and filed the satisfaction of the deeds of trust. Sometime thereafter, Sunburst Bank and Union Planters Bank merged and were consolidated into Regions Bank.[1]

¶ 4. According to the Harmons, after payment in full of the loan, Regions Bank began a "course of harassment" by telephone and letters demanding payment on the loan which had already been paid in full. Regions Bank ultimately made reports to credit reporting companies claiming that the Harmons' payments were in arrears.

¶ 5. According to the Harmons, in February of 2002, they received a delinquency notice from Regions Bank Mortgage printed on pink paper. Believing it to be a mistake, they discarded the notice. On March 1, 2002, upon receipt of a second delinquency notice, Martha contacted the local Regions Bank, which told her not to be concerned because the loans were paid. Subsequently, Martha was denied a business loan from another financial institution because, as the loan officer told her, her credit report contained a notice that the Harmons' home was in foreclosure.

¶ 6. Martha Harmon asserts that she then contacted a local Regions Bank employee who told her there was nothing Regions could do to clear up her credit report. Thereafter, the Harmons began receiving phone calls at their home and at work from local Regions Bank branches regarding money owed, offering settlement and informing them of the recent "foreclosure" of their home.

¶ 7. By letter dated September 1, 2002, the Harmons received notice that their loan was paid in full. Additionally, Regions Bank sent to a Regions Mortgage employee on October 18, 2002, a letter directing her to notify various credit reporting agencies to remove the delinquencies *697 reported and to show that the loan was paid in full as of November 21, 2001.

¶ 8. The Harmons filed suit against Regions Bank on July 1, 2003, in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Chickasaw County, Mississippi. Regions Bank denied all liability and filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on July 22, 2005.[2] On September 1, 2005, during the hearing on Regions Bank's Motion for Summary Judgment, the Harmons made a verbal motion to amend the complaint. The trial judge granted such motion, stating that he would allow the Harmons an opportunity to file a written Motion to Amend as long as it was filed before entry of final judgment. The Harmons failed to file a written motion to amend, and final judgment was entered on September 19, 2005. On September 26, 2005, the Harmons filed a Motion to Reconsider Summary Judgment and a Motion for Authority to File Amended Complaint. These Motions were denied by the Circuit Court and the Harmons bring these issues for disposition.

ANALYSIS

¶ 9. The issues before this Court are as follows: (1) whether the trial court erred in finding the Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts state law claims of defamation and harassment; (2) whether the trial court erred in failing to make sufficient findings of fact; and (3) whether the trial court erred in denying the Harmons' Motion to Amend their Complaint.

I. Whether the Circuit Court erred in holding that the Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts common law claims

¶ 10. The Court applies a de novo standard of review to a trial court's grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment. McKinley v. Lamar Bank, 919 So.2d 918, 925 (Miss.2005). Our rules of civil procedure require the trial court to grant summary judgment where "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Miss. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, with the movant bearing the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issues of material fact exist for presentation to the trier of fact. Hardy v. Brock, 826 So.2d 71, 74 (Miss.2002). However, the party opposing the motion must be diligent and "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the pleadings, but instead the response must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial." Harrison v. Chandler-Sampson Ins., Inc., 891 So.2d 224, 228 (Miss.2005) (citing Miller v. Meeks, 762 So.2d 302, 304 (Miss.2000)). If any triable issues of material fact exist, the trial court's decision to grant summary judgment will be reversed.

¶ 11. This Court has held that preemption is proper in three circumstances: (1) where Congress explicitly preempts state law; (2) where preemption is implied because Congress has occupied the entire field; or (3) where preemption is implied because there is an actual conflict between federal and state law. Cooper v. GMC, 702 So.2d 428, 434 (Miss.1997) (citing English v. General Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 78-9, 110 S.Ct. 2270, 110 L.Ed.2d 65 (1990)). Here, the federal Fair Credit Reporting *698 Act applies to these claims and explicitly preempts certain state law claims.

¶ 12.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Mary Archer v. Harlow's Casino Resort & Spa
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2024
Mark D. Herbert v. Nina L. Herbert
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2023
Mauldin Company v. Earnest Turnage
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2021
Chaffee ex rel. Latham v. Jackson Pub. Sch. Dist.
270 So. 3d 905 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2019)
David Paul Anderson v. State of Mississippi
185 So. 3d 403 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2015)
Daniel Pride v. Robert Pride
154 So. 3d 70 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2014)
Wood v. Mossy Oak Properties, Inc.
120 So. 3d 443 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
961 So. 2d 693, 2007 WL 1630971, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harmon-v-regions-bank-miss-2007.